Starlings Childcare
Childminder in Brighton
Usually responds within 3 hours
Female Member since Nov 2019 Last Updated Apr 2025 Last Login 30 Apr 2025
My Summary
About Me
Starlings Childcare is a childminding setting run by Maddie, a qualified primary school teacher and AMI certified Montessori assistant with over 17 years of experience working with babies and children. At Starlings, high-quality education and care are combined with a nurturing home-from-home environment to offer children the very best start in life. Situated in Kemptown, Brighton near the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Starlings offers individualised care for children aged 0-5 years old.
My home is a warm, calm environment where children are happy, nurtured and safe. Rated by Ofsted as 'Outstanding in all areas', I offer personalised learning and plan responsively based on each child’s needs and interests, supporting children to make progress in all seven areas of learning from the Early Years Foundation Stage. I am passionate about a child-led, play based approach and maximise opportunities for children to spend time outside, immersed in nature. Activities we enjoy include: nature based activities and adventures; creative opportunities and crafts; cooking, baking and practical life activities; yoga and movement sessions; music, singing and story time. Stories play an important role in our learning and we often link books to our adventures, for example we might listen to 'Lucy and Tom at the Seaside' after a morning rock pooling at the beach; then back at our setting children might reflect upon their experiences with shells and sea creatures at the water table.
I have a safe, enclosed back garden with a decking area and grass lawn where children can play, investigate and explore. Our outside resources include a mud kitchen, water table and sand area and we enjoy growing our own fruit and vegetables - this year we grew runner beans, rainbow chard, potatoes, kale, gooseberries, raspberries and redcurrants.
Our home-based setting gives me the freedom to provide opportunities for rich childhood experiences including beach and woodland adventures, scavenger hunts and nature walks. Our outdoor adventures are a key feature of our learning and play; first-hand experiences make learning meaningful for children and help them to form strong foundations, giving them the best possible start to their journey as learners.
My Experience
I begun my career as a Nursery Assistant on the Isle of Wight, before completing my degree in Primary Education with Qualified Teacher Status at the University of Brighton. Whilst studying for my degree, I worked as a Nanny for a family in central Brighton. Upon qualifying as a Primary School Teacher I taught at a school in East Sussex, where I developed my passion for child-led, creative and exploratory learning and play. During my teaching career, I was consistently graded as “good” and “outstanding” and acted as a mentor to student teachers completing training placements at my school. Following the birth of my third child, I set up Starlings Childcare, a setting created to offer high-quality education within a nurturing home environment, to provide a rounded childcare service which wholly meets children’s needs.
Alongside running Starlings, I have also worked for the Department for Education, mentoring other childminders and leading a team of mentors, as part of the government's Early Years Covid19 recovery scheme.
My Qualifications
BA (Hons) in Primary Education with Qualified Teacher Status
Paediatric First Aid
Childminder Training
Food Allergy Training
Child Protection and Safeguarding for Childminders
Montessori Training for Childminders
Forest School Level 1
AMI Montessori Assistant (0-3 years)
Level 3 EYSENCO
Makaton Level 1
My Availability
Opening hours:
8:30am - 3pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before School | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Morning | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| Afternoon | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| After School | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Evening | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Overnight | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Last Updated: 09/04/2025 | |||||||
My Fees
- Childminding from £8.50 per hour
Babies aged 0 – 1
£8.50 per hour
Includes all snacks, nappies, wipes and local outings.
Milk should be provided by parents/carers and foods for weaning may be provided by the setting or from home; a weaning plan will be created considering the stage and needs of the individual child.
Some trips may be chargeable to cover entry costs and travel.
Toddlers and Young children aged 1 - 5
£8.50 per hour
Price includes all meals, snacks, wipes, nappies and local outings.
Some trips may be chargeable to cover entry costs and travel.
My Local Schools
This childminder has not yet informed us whether or not they provide any drop off or pick up services at local schools.
My Ofsted Inspections
The inspection grades below have been obtained from the Ofsted website based upon the registration number the childminder has provided to us. You should verify this information yourself prior to using the childminder.
My Documents
- UK Driving Licence (added 10/07/2023)
Reviews
5 out of 5
Latest reviews
Below are the latest reviews for Starlings Childcare. Please note that reviews represent the subjective opinions of other Childcare.co.uk members and not of Childcare.co.uk. Parents must carry out their own checks and references on childcare providers to ensure that they are completely happy before enaging in the use of their services.
Maddie has been caring for our son for two and a half years, and we feel incredibly lucky to have found a space for him with her. She has been gentle, compassionate, thoughtful, and intelligent, always generous with her time and full of insight into what is going on with him. She is clearly an expert in early years development and uses this knowledge to facilitate an environment in which children can thrive. It has been amazing to be able to talk through our son’s various phases and stages with her, and she is always a calm and reassuring presence. She takes them on outings to the forest, beach, farms, National Trust gardens, playgrounds, etc., which makes the week varied and exciting for them. She provides a creative and healthy array of home-cooked meals and snacks, which is amazing! She also gets the children involved in cooking soups, scones, etc. They pay close attention to nature, and as well as frequent nature walks where they observe the local wildlife, they learn poems and songs that reflect the seasons. We honestly could not recommend Maddie enough; she is a wonderful childminder!
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JamieP
on 22/10/2024
Maddie is such a great childminder, our son absolutely loves going to starlings! Maddie has cared for and taught our boy for over two years and she is nothing but consistently brilliant. They go on exciting trips out into nature, the beach, the city and its surroundings, always having fun and always learning about the world whilst picking up new skills along the way. We love the way that Maddie supports young children “going at their own pace” when out and about - encouraging fun observations of the world around them. When they are not outside they spend their time in Maddies lovely home, a safe and cozy environment with lots of things to do and learn from, be it creating art, focused play, baking, reading and gardening.
Our son always leaves his day at starlings with so much to say about how great his time was and Maddie has been excellent at supporting him deeply with his learning and also his emotions as he has grown over his time there. Maddie regularly reports to us on his progress, interests, his challenges and victories and we feel so connected to him when he is not with us through her brilliant communication. We feel lucky to have her as a childminder and our sons upbringing wouldn’t be the same without Maddie or his time at starlings.
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Jack
on 18/10/2024
Maddie really is the best person we could have asked for to look after our daughter. Whilst being super professional and well qualified, she is also warm, caring, gentle and creative, always going above and beyond for the children and families at Starlings.
The setting is exceptional, at Maddie’s welcoming family home with a dedicated and well equipped play room. Maddie is responsive to the changing needs and interests of the children, encouraging child-led play whilst introducing a range of activities for them to enjoy. She respectfully and gently supports them through transitions and milestones. They spend time outside everyday and learn to appreciate and respect nature, the world and others around them. Our daughter particularly enjoys how much her creativity is encouraged at Starlings with lots of arts and crafts activities freely available.
Maddie communicates really well with us, as well as with the children, and is a hugely positive influence in our daughter’s life. We will be really sad when the time comes for us to move on!
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Hayley
on 18/10/2024
Our daughter could not have been more welcomed into starlings by Maddie and she loves her days there. Maddie is such a wonderful influence on her and she has so much fun playing out and about in nature with her friends. Maddie is so brilliant At focusing in on the children and helping them build on their skills whilst also allowing them to lead the day and their play. I would highly recommend Starlings and don’t believe we could have found a better fit for our family.
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Jo Flowe
on 17/10/2024
Maddie is the perfect mix of professional and warm. Our little one loves spending her days with Maddie and her lovely family so much that Starlings is like a home from home. They do so many fun activities every day and we love that so many of them are outdoors and showing an appreciation of nature. Maddie is so sensitive to our little one’s needs and has taught her so much. Our little one couldn’t be happier at Starlings!
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Grace
on 26/06/2020
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